1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to microphone arrays, and more particularly to apparatus comprising microphone arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
A microphone system with beamforming capability comprises a microphone array and a beamforming module. The microphone array comprises a plurality of microphones. When the microphone array is used to receive a sound, the microphones of the microphone array convert the sound into a plurality of audio signal with slight phase differences therebetween. The beamforming module then performs a beamforming process according to the phase differences of the audio signals to generate a beamforming signal comprising sound components originating from a certain direction requested by a user, thereby improving the quality of the beamforming signal.
Many electronic systems comprise a microphone system with beamforming capability. The microphone system, however, may fail due to damage to any one of the components thereof. For example, when one of the microphones of the microphone array of the microphone system is damaged, the beamforming module cannot derive the beamforming signal. In addition, when any of the microphones is deteriorated, thus, causing the beamforming module to fail, the microphone system also cannot generate a beamforming signal even if all microphones of the microphone array of the microphone system are still in a usable condition. The electronic system therefore cannot use the microphone system even though most components of the microphone system normally functions. Thus, a method for flexibly operating a microphone system is therefore required. In addition, when a microphone of a microphone array is damaged, performance of the entire microphone system is degraded. Thus, a method for properly operating a microphone system to extend the lifespan of microphones of the microphone system is also required.